The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague Karim Khan (UK) has initiated an investigation into Russia's crimes against Ukraine. He describes the actions of the occupier as "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity".
This statement appeared under his name on the court's website.
"Last Friday, I expressed my concern about the events, the reaction of world leaders and the world community to the events in Ukraine. Today I want to announce that I have decided to start an investigation into the situation in Ukraine as soon as possible," Khan said.
He noted that Ukraine is not a member of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) or "Court", so its case cannot be just transferred to his office.
"But Ukraine has twice used its prerogatives to legally recognize the jurisdiction of the Court over suspected crimes under the Rome Statute that take place on its territory if the Court decides to commit it."
The first declaration was submitted by the Government of Ukraine regarding crimes committed on its territory from November 21, 2013 to February 22, 2014. The second declaration concerned all crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine since February 20, 2014.
"I have read the Office's findings from a preliminary study of the situation in Ukraine and confirmed that there are sufficient grounds to launch an investigation. In particular, I am convinced that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed in Ukraine" the prosecutor said.
He also stated that he will request for support in the investigation from all member states and the international community.
"I will call for additional budget support, for voluntary contributions to support all our actions, for the loan of unpaid staff. The importance and urgency of our mission is too serious to be held hostage by the lack of funds. I will continue to monitor developments in Ukraine closely and reiterate my call for restraint and strict adherence to existing rules of international humanitarian law. If anyone has information about the violations of these laws, you can send the information directly to my office’s email: [email protected]. ", - the prosecutor added.
Earlier, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi reported that since the beginning of the invasion Russia has fired 113 tactical land-attack and sea-based missiles "Iskander" and "Kalibr" towards the peaceful cities and villages of Ukraine.
"This bloody crime of the Putin regime is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and requires an investigation by the Hague tribunal," he said.